In late 1979 and early 1980 Paco's Tacos expanded to a set of three restaurants. One of them was in Allston, just across the river from Cambridge, and another was in Kenmore Square in Boston. Both these areas were packed with students and the hipsters of the time who enjoyed eating Mexican street food.
The management commissioned me to make two more sets of menu signs, one for the Allston store and one for Kenmore Square. I'll be showing the Allston series for the next lot of menu signs. This one, entitled "The Lonely Surfer" after the Jack Nitzsche surf instrumental classic, was my tribute to surf music and the Beach Boys. Many of my menu signs had musical connections, sometimes requested by the music-loving customers.
It was also a fond memory of my first trip to California in 1977. I visited the Los Angeles area with a friend and I spent some very nice hours at Laguna Beach. I tried to depict some of the scenery from that place, as well as the laid-back surfer culture which still prevailed there at the time. That's right, no Internet, no cell phones, no GPS, no home computers. Just the waves, the sand, and the sun.
As always, markers on posterboard, 21" x 13", winter 1979.
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